Page 65 - Lok Sabha

LS polls: Wayanad District Congress Committee general secy quits, joins BJP

The Congress party in Wayanad faced a setback on Saturday as its District Congress Committee general secretary resigned from the party and joined the BJP. Addressing the media after joining the saffron party, P M Sudhakaran said present MP and Congress candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, Rahul Gandhi, was inaccessible to even the district leaders of the party. "If he is inaccessible to me, imagine the situation of a common man. He was given five years. If we give another term, it will destroy the development prospects of Wayanad," Sudhakaran said. He also challenged Gandhi to announce that he will not contest from Amethi. Two other "prominent personalities" too joined the BJP today, the saffron party said in a release. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front has fielded senior CPI leader Annie Raja from the Wayanad constituency. The BJP has given the ticket to its state chief K Surendran in the high range constituency. Recently, the UDF convenor of Kottayam District, Sji ...

Powerful people in India, abroad joined hands to remove me from power: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said big and powerful people in India and abroad have joined hands to remove him from power. Addressing a mega public meeting here, he said, "Mothers and sisters have come in a large number here. Your struggle and the challenges you face to nurture your family, Modi has seen this in his house. These days big and powerful people in the country and abroad have united to remove Modi." "But, because of Nari Shakti and Maatru Shakti's blessings and Suraksha kavach (safety armour), Modi is able to move on fighting challenges." "Serving mothers, sisters and daughters and protecting them is Modi's priority," he said, listing out measures taken by his government for women's welfare in ten years, like supporting their self help groups and creating 'Lakhpati Didis'. Former Minister K Sudhakar is the BJP candidate from Chikkaballapur, while its alliance partner JD(S) has fielded M Mallesh Babu from the neighbouring Kolar. The prime minister said the fi

Cong against OBC, BJP will not let anyone do away with reservation: Shah

Accusing the Congress of being against the Other Backward Classes, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday said even if the opposition party wants to do away with the reservation given to SC, ST and OBCs, the BJP will not allow that to happen. Prime Minister Narendra Modi belongs to the OBC community, he said, adding that it was Modi who implemented schemes for people of small backward classes. Shah was addressing an election rally in support of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the BJP's candidate and sitting MP from the Kota Lok Sabha seat. "Even if the Congress party wants to remove SC, ST and OBC reservation... we will not allow it. This is Modi's guarantee," he asserted. The Congress is a party which opposes Other Backward Classes (OBC), Shah alleged. "The Congress government did not implement the Mandal Commission report. During a discussion in Parliament on reservation, Rahul baba's father Rajiv Gandhi spoke against it for two-and-a-half hours," he claimed. Shah said Modi worked

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Tripura logs highest voter turnout, Bihar lowest

Phase 1 of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 saw 62.37% voter turnout; Tripura recorded 80.17%, while Bihar saw a low of 48.50%. Polling was reported across 17 states and UTs

BJP may bring back electoral bonds after 2024 elections: FM Sitharaman

Electoral bond issue: Finance Minister Sitharaman said electoral bonds could be reintroduced with improvements for transparency and stakeholder consultations if BJP came back to power after the ongoin

Modi govt cares only for super rich, posing threat to Constitution: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday charged the BJP-RSS combine and a handful of billionaires with posing a threat to democracy and the country's Constitution, to which "Dalits, tribals and the poor owe all that they have". Addressing an election rally at Bhagalpur, his first in Bihar, Gandhi also drew a contrast with the previous UPA government headed by his party, claiming the amount of debt written off under the Narendra Modi regime was 25 times the farmers' loans we had waived. I would like to give you some startling statistics. The country has 22 individuals who own wealth that is equivalent to the holdings of 70 crore people. There are 70 crore people in the country who are surviving on less than Rs 100 a day," claimed Gandhi. The former Congress president claimed that Modi has waived debts, of not more than 25 people, which amounts to about Rs 16 lakh crore". "Do you realiSe it is 25 times the amount of farmers' loans we had waived? It may also be seen as equivalent to

BJP wants to continue loot: Cong on Sitharaman's remarks on electoral bonds

The Congress on Saturday hit out at the BJP over Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reported remarks that electoral bonds will be brought back after consultations, alleging that after looting Rs 4 lakh crore of public money, they want to "continue the loot." Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's attack on the BJP came after Sitharaman told the Hindustan Times that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intended to bring back electoral bonds in some form after consultations with all stakeholders if it is elected back to power after the 2024 general election. In a post on X, Ramesh said, "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has declared that if the BJP returns to power, they will bring back the Electoral Bonds that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional and illegal!" "We know that the BJP looted Rs. 4 lakh crore of public money in the #PayPM scam. Now they want to continue the loot," he alleged. Ramesh listed what he said were the "four methods of PayPM." "Prepaid Bribery - .

LS polls about safeguarding J-K's identity, saving its resources: Mehbooba

The Lok Sabha elections are not about addressing the day-to-day development issues but safeguarding the identity of Jammu and Kashmir and saving its resources, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday. The former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, who is contesting the general elections from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, took part in a roadshow in the Pahalgam area of south Kashmir as part of her campaign. "This election is not about building roads or water and electricity supply. This election is about safeguarding the identity of Jammu and Kashmir, its youngsters and their dignity, and saving Jammu and Kashmir's resources," the People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief told reporters. Mehbooba said she feels an affection towards the people of Pahalgam as her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was fond of them. "I have an affection for this area as my father was fond of this area. He did a lot of work here and I am thankful to the people who came to welcome me. T

Priyanka questions PM's claim about voters rejecting INDIA bloc in phase 1

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday questioned how Prime Minister Narendra Modi can claim that the grand old party and the INDIA bloc led by it have been rejected by voters in the first phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections. The first phase elections covering 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories were held on Friday. "How does he know? The results are not out yet," the Congress leader said at the sidelines of a poll rally in this district. She also questioned how the PM and BJP can claim that they will get over 400 seats this time. "I do not know how they can be so confident when the results have not come. We are all working very hard," she told PTI. The Congress leader said that wherever she goes she sees people who want change. "I am sure change will come," she said. On being asked whether she will contest from the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader said, "You will see in a few days".

79.77% voter turnout in Sikkim Assembly elections, 80% on lone LS seat

The Sikkim Assembly elections recorded a voter turnout of 79.77 per cent while the polling figure for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the Himalayan state was 80.03, officials said on Saturday. Voting for the 32 Assembly segments and the lone Lok Sabha seat in the Himalayan state was held on Friday. The election officials had given a voter turnout figure of 67.95 per cent after 5 pm on Friday. The final voter turnout figure for the Sikkim Assembly election is 79.77 per cent which was an improvement by one per cent from 78.63 per cent in 2019 assembly polls, they said. The Himalayan state has 4.64 lakh voters. Yoksom-Tashiding assembly constituency registered the highest voter turnout at 85.37 per cent, while Gangtok (BL) assembly constituency witnessed the lowest turnout at 63.66 per cent. As many as 20 assembly constituencies recorded voter turnout at 80 per cent or more, while 10 other assembly constituencies saw polling between 70 and 79 per cent. The voter turnout for the lone Lok

LS elections 2024: Two Punjab Cong leaders including national secy join BJP

Two Punjab Congress leaders, including its national secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bittu, joined the BJP here on Saturday as the ruling party at the Centre bolsters its ranks in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls there. Bittu announced his resignation from the Congress hours before joining the BJP. He and Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, the wife of late Congress veteran Santokh Singh Chaudhary, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and its national general secretary Vinod Tawde. Chaudhary had last year unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha bypoll in Jalandhar following the death of her husband, who was the sitting MP. At a press conference, Tawde said their induction into the BJP will boost the party, especially in Punjab where the polls are scheduled for June 1. Bittu told reporters that he had been feeling "suffocated" in the Congress after being with the party for over 35 years. "Three-four power centres work in the Congress and all of them seek to func

LS polls 2024: MVA to win over 50% seats in Maharashtra, says Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra will win more than 50 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats in the state. There are 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. As per the seat-sharing agreement among the three MVA parties, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting 21 seats, Congress 17 and NCP (SP) 10. These three parties are fighting the national elections as part of the opposition INDIA bloc. Talking to reporters here, Pawar said there could be disagreements among the INDIA bloc partners over certain seats, but attention should not be paid to it. The broader understanding among the opposition parties is to win the polls to provide a stable government, he said. He termed as wrong the BJP's 'Abki baar, 400 paar' slogan of winning 400-plus seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The opposition won six seats in Maharashtra in the 2019 parliamentary polls - four by the undivided NCP and one each by the Congress and the All ...

UDF MPs unable to stand for state's interest in Parl: Kerala CM Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday attacked the Congress leadership including Wayanad MP, Rahul Gandhi, and alleged that for the past five years, the 18 UDF MPs from the state stood against the interest of Kerala in the Parliament and refused to speak up for the rights of the people of the southern state. Addressing an election rally at Vatakara, where the Left party has fielded former health minister and MLA, K K Shailaja, the chief minister hit out at the Congress leadership over various matters including its stand on the CAA and the electoral bonds scam. Reacting sharply to the Congress allegation that there was some understanding between the Left party and the BJP, Vijayan raked up the DLF-Robert Vadra connection and targeted AICC leader Priyanka Gandhi who was campaigning in the state. "In 2019, 18 UDF members were elected. We would like to ask whether any one of these members stood for the interest of Kerala? They stood with the RSS agenda. They didn't even car

LS polls: Share of senior citizens in voting age population highest ever

Southern and Western parts ageing faster than the rest of the country

Congress a vine, sucks dry those who lend support to it, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dubbed the Congress a vine that does not have roots or branches but sucks dry those who lend support to it. Addressing a rally in Parbhani in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, Modi said the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are all about making India a developed and self-reliant country. In just 10 years, India has traversed a long road of development, said the BJP's star campaigner. The Parbhani Lok Sabha constituency will go to polls in the second phase on April 26. This is the first election to make India the third largest economy in the world, he said. Attacking the main opposition party, he said, Congress is a vine that doesn't have roots or branches. It sucks dry those who lend support to it. BJP's poll manifesto is Modi's guarantee card, said the PM. Modi said the government would build 3 crore houses for the poor in the country, stressing that he had lived a life of poverty and understood the pains of the poor. Your dreams are my dreams, h

Lok Sabha polls are a battle between PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi: Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said this Lok Sabha election is not about family relations but a battle between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra, the NCP's candidate from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in Pune district, officially launched her campaign by offering prayers at the Hanuman temple at Kanheri on Saturday. Ajit Pawar, his sons Parth and Jay, and several local party leaders were present for the campaign launch. On Thursday, Sunetra and her sister-in-law three-term Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule filed their nomination papers for the NCP and NCP (SP) respectively. Ajit Pawar has also filed nomination papers for the seat, which an NCP functionary described as a backup plan in case his wife's nomination does not stand scrutiny or if any discrepancy is found. Addressing the gathering, Ajit Pawar said, "We are launching the official campaign after praying to Lord Hanuman. The election is not a

INDIA bloc to prevent BJP from scrapping Constitution, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the ruling BJP at the Centre of trying to "scrap" the Constitution, but vowed that the opposition bloc INDIA would foil its attempt. Addressing an election rally at Bhagalpur, his first in Bihar, Gandhi also scoffed at claims of the BJP that it will win more than 370 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, asserting that "their tally will not go past 150". "The INDIA bloc is fighting to save democracy and the Constitution which the BJP-RSS combine is trying to scrap," Gandhi said. The former Congress president also alleged, "Whatever the country's poor, Dalits and tribals have got, it is because of the Constitution. If the Constitution is scrapped, all things will come to an end." Gandhi charged the Narendra Modi government with being pro-super rich, claiming that "under its rule, merely 22 people hold wealth that is equivalent to what 70 per cent of the population has. We want to change that". He also spoke about promises made by the ...

Andhra Cong chief Y S Sharmila files nomination for Kadapa Lok Sabha seat

Andhra Pradesh Congress President Y S Sharmila on Saturday filed her nomination for the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat. Sharmila was accompanied by Sunitha Narreddy, her cousin and daughter of Y S Vivekananda Reddy, who was murdered in the run-up to the 2019 polls. Filed the nomination as Kadapa MP candidate. Kadapa people did not forget Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and Vivekananda. We believe that they will vote this time by keeping them in their mind, said Sharmila, addressing a press conference. Prior to filing the nomination, Sharmila offered prayers at her father Rajasekhar Reddy's grave at Idupulupaya. As Congress candidate for the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, she will take on her cousin Y S Avinash Reddy from the ruling YSRCP run by her older brother and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. Elections for the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13.

Lok Sabha polls: BJP to win all 25 seats in Rajasthan, says HM Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said Rajasthan is going to give all 25 Lok Sabha seats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third time. Addressing a poll rally in Bhilwara, Shah also targeted former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, saying that he was stuck in the election campaign of his son Vaibhav Gehlot, the Congress candidate from the Jalore seat. Vaibhav Gehlot is going to lose the election by a huge margin, the Union minister claimed. "The first phase of elections was yesterday (Friday). All 12 seats of Rajasthan that voted in the first phase are going to Narendra Modi. Rajasthan is going to make a hat-trick of giving all 25 seats to Narendra Modi for a third time," Shah said. He also hit out at Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, claiming that they go on vacations abroad every three months. "Priyanka Gandhiji returned from Thailand after a vacation in the middle of the elections," he added.

CJI Chandrachud urges voters to not miss voting in 2024 general elections

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has urged citizens not to miss the opportunity to vote in the general elections, saying that it is the "foremost duties" in a constitutional democracy. In a video message for the Election Commission's 'My Vote My Voice' mission for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Justice Chandrachud said, "We are citizens of the world's largest democracy, which is our country. "The Constitution gives us a multitude of rights as citizens but it also expects that each of us performs the duty, which is cast upon us. And one of the foremost duties of citizenship is to cast a vote in a constitutional democracy," he said. "I will request every one of you please do not miss this opportunity to vote responsibly as citizens of our great motherland. Five minutes, every five years for our nation. It's doable, isn't it? Let's vote with pride. My vote, my voice," the CJI said. Justice Chandrachud said the citizens have a participatory role in electing the government and that is w